Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Quick-Fire Review: Dare You To by Katie McGarry

"I dare you…"
If anyone knew the truth about Beth Risk's home life, they'd send her mother to jail and seventeen-year-old Beth who knows where. So she protects her mom at all costs. Until the day her uncle swoops in and forces Beth to choose between her mom's freedom and her own happiness. That's how Beth finds herself living with an aunt who doesn't want her and going to a school that doesn't understand her. At all. Except for the one guy who shouldn't get her, but does….
Ryan Stone is the town golden boy, a popular baseball star jock—with secrets he can't tell anyone. Not even the friends he shares everything with, including the constant dares to do crazy things. The craziest? Asking out the Skater girl who couldn't be less interested in him.
But what begins as a dare becomes an intense attraction neither Ryan nor Beth expected. Suddenly, the boy with the flawless image risks his dreams—and his life—for the girl he loves, and the girl who won't let anyone get too close is daring herself to want it all….

At a Glance:

Let me explain something about me... I DO NOT READ CONTEMPORARY. Period. I've always said that when I read, I want to be transported to a different world and be riveted. Mesmerized. Wowed. Contemp's for me are just too emotional, real and depressing. When someone explains a good contemp book to me, I usually just want to stab myself in the eyeball. Believe me, I can cause enough drama in my life to write my own contemp book. So with hesitation, expecting to put this book down quickly, I started to read. Dare You To by Katie McGarry is extremely good, very well written. I read it from cover to cover in about ten hours yesterday. My children were lucky enough to get dinner and a goodnight kiss from me.

So here it is short and sweet; I started to explain the story line to my husband, just because I was so engrossed, he wanted to know why this book kept me in my p.j's all day...

Me: "So there's this jock (Ryan) who has everything handed to him on a silver platter, falls for this girl (Beth) from the wrong side of the tracks. Her best friend Isaiah is in love with her..."

Husband: "Oh, like Pretty in Pink?"

Me: " No. Well yeah, pretty much."

Cover:

I love the cover. I might have glanced at Ryan Stone one too many times. Both models fit the description of Beth and Ryan's character perfectly.

Beth Risk:
Beth Risk is one feisty, mean spirited girl. Pretty much her entire life people (friends, family) has used and abused her. Sexually, psychically, emotionally. Beth is a mess. Her Uncle gains custody of Beth and helps her make a normal life for herself. Beth struggles with this new life, new school, new friends. When Ryan falls for this new girl from the worst childhood ever, Beth is extremely distrusting of his intentions.Ryan Stone:

Ryan is awesome. He is strong and sturdy. He is a great friend. Loyal. Star baseball player. All American golden boy with charm and good looks. His character impressed me. He was out of his league with Beth Risk and yet he was so drawn to her against all odds. Ryan has his hands full getting Beth to trust him. Ryan never gives up!

Romance:

The romance is really good. Dramatic. Raw. Gritty. Both Ryan and Beth grow so much, they learn a lot about each other, life, trust and love. Real love.

Heroine:

Beth tries so hard to save her mother from destroying herself. Her mother is an alcoholic, heroin addict, and her boyfriend beats her. Beth is terrified to find her mom one day dead. Naturally, Beth does everything she can to rescue her mom. At first, I thought "yeah, you're suppose to save your mom from that kind of Hell". Beth struggles and struggles to help her mom, sadly some people can't be helped.

Hero:

Ryan. For so many reasons. Ryan became the rock in Beth's life. She needed his loyalty and love.

Favorite Supporting Character:

Echo and Noah (Pushing The Limits book 1), Isaiah, Logan, Chris, and Lacey. All great characters. Even Gwen. Ugh, she was a menace.

Something(s) I loved:

I didn't even know that Dare You To is a sequel/companion to Pushing The Limits by Katie McGarry. Each book is a different story, different couples. I wasn't lost at all starting with book 2, even though Echo and Noah was mention and played a part in Dare To You. Book 3 will be about Beth's best friend Isaiah.

The story.

Something(s) I hated:

So much sexual, profanity and violent content. For a teen book (personally), I felt like it was Pushing The Limits :) haha

Would I recommend it?

Yes, to an adult.

I will start the first book Pushing The Limits with the character's Echo and Noah soon.

2 comments:

Great review. I loved Pushing the Limits because of how raw and emotional it was. I suppose being an adult reading it, I didn't think too much about how mature it really is. I do agree that these books should be read by older teens or adults. I will be starting this book soon, and I am already dying for Isiah's book. I loved him in Pushing the Limits.